Features
Trunk Archive brings the world of fashion to stock licensing
Trunk archive is a relatively new stock licensing with a slightly different approach. Hailing from New York City, the company appears to have carved out a niche by consolidating the work of top fashion, beauty, interior and lifestyle photographers. “The artists we represent are the premier advertising, celebrity, editorial and fashion photographers. For example, we represent the archives of Inez Van Lamsweerde + Vinodh Matadin, Pamela Hanson, Raymond Meier, Mary Ellen Mark, Peggy Sirota Walter Chin and Max Vadukul, amongst many others” stated Matthew Moneypeny, CEO of Trunk Archive.
The company was originally started by a group of collectors in Copenhagen who intended the site to allow fine art photographers to manage their own licensing. Moneypeney explains “After two years of development, they realized they needed a more commercial approach and hired me to be CEO”. Prior to this role Moneypeney had spent several years as an Agent at the Art + Commerce Archive. The Trunk Archive now contains over 60,000 images and grows by roughly 3000 images per week. All images are offered with rights-managed (RM) licensing. Moneypeney adds “Our photographers use the best subjects, exotic locations, hair/make-up and styling teams and are given extremely large budgets to produce the work. They have assignment contracts with Conde Nast, Hearst, Gucci, The New York Times, etc”.
When asked about the optimism required to launch a new stock photography business in today’s market place Moneypeney responded “I’ve been watching the rise and fall of many image licensing start-ups. I haven’t seen a single agency that was bringing something new to the market. What we’re doing is definitely different. There is an incredible demand for this content. For clients who could never afford to create this kind of work on assignment, acquiring an existing image is a cost-effective solution.
In addition to its ongoing efforts to build the picture archive, the company has stated plans to develop a footage archive and also claims to be in the final stages of developing a decorative print business.
Web: www.trunkarchive.com
Posted in: Features, Stock Art Buyers, Stock Photo Companies
